Latest news with #JoshRyan
Irish Examiner
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Ryan scores 1-6 to help Oola see off Na Piarsaigh in 15 point win
Limerick SFC: Oola 4-15 (4-2-11) Na Piarsaigh 1-9 (1-1-7) Josh Ryan accounted for 1-6 of a winning total, as Oola recorded an opening round victory in the Limerick SFC over Na Piarsaigh. A fifteen point margin didn't flatter them at a sunny Caherconlish. The Limerick netminder returned outfield for his club, just five days after suffering a narrow defeat in the Tailteann Cup final. His place ball kicking, as well as healthy contributions from Jack Downey (1-4) and Tom Ryan (0-3) helped them over a disappointing Na Piarsaigh display. While the city club will not panic, having suffered a heavy defeat in the first round in 2025, they will have some way to go to match the effort of the last two seasons, where they reached the quarter-finals. A devastating opening third to this contest, which was closed by Paddy Downey's powerful goal, saw Oola open up a 1-6 to no score advantage and from here, they never looked back. Josh Ryan had the honour of scoring the first two pointer at the grade, after eight minutes after Jack Downey has opened the scoring. They looked much the sharper and Na Piarsaigh's shooting meant the game quickly got away from them. Evan Egan, on 25 minutes, landed a beautiful two-point free, to open the account of for the Caherdavin men. Things looked a bit brighter when sub Tommy Glynn pounced on a rebound to net, after Dean McLoughlin blasted off the crossbar. However, despite that late spurt it was 1-8 to 1-2 at the interval with wing-forward Tommy Ryan opening his account. He was fouled inside sixty seconds for a penalty, allowing Josh Ryan the chance to bury a penalty, despite Eoghain Sherlock getting a hand to the powerful effort. The inevitability about the result was clear, with Ryan adding another two pointer, before the Light Blues rallied and scores from Kieran Daly, Glynn and Eoghan Vukovic gave them something to cling to. Late goals from the returning Mikey O'Brien and Jack Downey added further to the Oola tally. This is a group featuring champions Adare, runners-up Fr. Casey's as well as clashes with Rathkeale and Monaleen – the two points will be welcomed for the men in red and white. Scorers for Oola: J Ryan (1-6; 1-0 pen; 2 tpf, 2f);T Ryan (0-3); J Downey (1-5); P Downey, M O'Brien (1-0); E Stokes 0-1. Scorers for Na Piarsaigh: K Daly (0-5; 1f, 1 45); T Glynn (1-1; 0-1f); E Egan (0-2; 1tpf); E Vukovic 0-1. OOLA: C McGrath; F Roche, N McCormack, F O'Grady ©; C O'Grady, E Fitzgibbon, P Downey; J O'Callaghan, A Macken; E Landers, J Ryan, T Ryan; J Downey, M O'Brien, S O'Grady. Subs: L Cummins for Roche (blood 14-20 & 58 – ft); D McGrath for O'Grady (57); E Stokes for Landers (47). NA PIARSAIGH: E Sherlock; A Jordan, J McCarthy, C McMullan; M Walsh, R Leonard, R Hoolihan; D Ó Conaill, J Daly; S Dike, G Brown, E Vuckovic; E Egan (C), D McLoughlin, K Daly. Subs: T Glynn for Leonard (inj – 20); P Hodnett for Dike (43). Referee: J Murphy (Ballylanders).
Irish Examiner
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'At no time did I think I would be playing with Limerick again' - Keeper Josh Ryan on miraculous return to football after leg break
The unlikely goalkeeper. The grateful goalkeeper. The I-don't-want-to-be-in-here-forever goalkeeper. Limerick football teams appearing in championship deciders of any hue are a rare enough occurrence. Collating such lists is not a menial task. It is a task requiring no more than a few minutes. At senior inter-county level, tomorrow's Tailteann Cup final is just the second such final appearance of the past 15 seasons. The other was the 2022 Munster decider. Josh Ryan wore No.14 that Munster final Saturday. This coming Saturday, he'll wear No.1. Truth be known, he is thankful to be in a position to pull on any jersey at all. Given the incident is almost three-years-old at this stage, you may or may not be familiar with the story of Josh Ryan's leg break. October 16, 2022. Limerick SHC semi-final. Doon versus Kilmallock. Seven minutes elapsed at Bruff. Crack. Snapple. Pop. The half-back's tibia lay in smithereens, broken in three places. The leg break was so severe that for a small window there were fears of the leg possibly being lost. Indeed, when Ryan was first put on an operating table and opened up, they didn't have a nail long enough to secure the smashed tibia. An external fixator was instead employed to keep the leg straight and prevent any movement. Against Wicklow in the Tailteann Cup semi-final three weeks ago, and three years on from his top-scoring 2022 summer, he stopped a 57th minute Oisin McGraynor penalty at a time when Limerick trailed by the minimum. Ten minutes later, the Mallow-based Garda landed a massive two-point free - the kick travelled 63 metres - to cement another championship final involvement for the Treaty. What went between was suffering, self-doubt, and far too much sitting around. 'With the injury and the extent of it, did I think I'd see the day again that I would be wearing a Limerick jersey? Not really,' Ryan admits. 'I might have seen the day of wearing a club jersey, but at no time did I think I'd be playing with Limerick again. I am extremely grateful for that.' Ryan celebrates scoring a two-pointer from a free late in the second half during the Tailteann Cup semi-final against Wicklow at Croke Park. File picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile Surgery was October 2022. It was five months later before the crutches were given their P45. The early days of weight bearing kept his cup of worry filled to the brim. The leg would be swollen after just 20 unsupported minutes. He trained the Oola footballers for the 2023 season where he was sidelined. He literally trained them from the sideline. 'You'd be sitting down training the lads and shouting as much as you can to get them to do things. But it is very hard when you are sitting down and static. The days are very long when you are sitting at home. You just want to be active,' the 27-year-old says in reflection. Once he began properly loading, he began walking three and four kilometres just to get some bit of movement into the for-so-long dormant leg. The pain roared. So too did his lungs. Breaks were required 300 and 400 metres in. 'That all just put so much doubt in my mind as to how am I ever going to run again when I am struggling to walk. From being involved in teams my whole life and playing since I was four, I was saying to myself, 'Jesus, am I ever going to get the chance to play sport again or am I going to be sitting on my leg coaching teams at 24 and 25 years of age? Not knowing was the toughest part.' December, 2023. The leg break and surgery are 14 months in the rearview mirror. Only now has he reached the point where running can be attempted. But even at that, his return to running must be attempted within the safety structure of an anti-gravity treadmill. There began a tortuous 13 weeks inside in the UPMC sports medicine clinic on the TUS campus. 'Getting used to impact and foot-striking again was really difficult. You'd look at the anti-gravity machine and say, this will be handy. But then you'd get off it and you'd be drowned in sweat. It was incredibly tough. There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears throughout the whole course of rehab because you just don't know if you are ever going to play again, never mind wear a Limerick jersey.' March 16, 2024. Exactly 17 months to the day since the disastrous Limerick hurling semi-final. He has again in his possession a Limerick jersey. Mind you, the number on the back is the last one he ever envisaged wearing. Donal O'Sullivan's retirement the previous winter had left a sizable void. In the pre-season McGrath Cup, Aaron O'Sullivan and Jeffrey Alfred were auditioned. For the opening five rounds of their Division 3 League campaign, O'Sullivan held first-choice status. But facing a tricky breeze in the first half of their Round 5 fixture at home to Clare, O'Sullivan struggled from the kicking tee and was replaced by Jack English three minutes before the break. For Round 6 in Aughrim, Josh Ryan was a most unexpected selection between the sticks. His first inter-county game since the last-12 qualifier defeat to Cork in June 2022. He kept a clean sheet and converted four frees in a 0-9 to 0-8 defeat. He was back. He's started 21 of their 22 games since. He doesn't want to stay there. 'Obviously I took the hands off the lads when they asked me to play in goals because I wasn't in a position to play out-field as I was still getting pain in the leg. Playing in goal is great, but the end goal is to get back out the field with Limerick.' For now, the No.1 shirt, and indeed all green shirts, is in good hands. 'Everyone in the panel gets on so well, there are no egos, and everyone is there for the betterment of Limerick football. We are all there because we want to leave Limerick football in a better place than it was for the next generation.' Read More Oisin McConville extends stay as Wicklow boss
RTÉ News
22-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
'It's our time' says Limerick semi-final hero Josh Ryan
Limerick goalkeeper Josh Ryan hailed their victory over Wicklow in today's Tailteann Cup semi-final as a massive step forward for the county, having overcome a huge personal battle to be part of it. The Treaty came from seven points down to progress to the decider with Kildare next month and are now a win away from entering the All-Ireland Football Championship next year. Man of the match Ryan saved a penalty and also kicked a couple of two-pointers. Speaking after the match, he shared what it means to Limerick GAA and credited his team-mates' resilience and closeness for their success. "It means a lot to to be fair," he told RTÉ Sport. "The football people of Limerick, we haven't given them too many days out. But thankfully, our time has kind of come now and it's about getting to a final and going that next step. "I'm looking forward to a final. We've prepared but have got a lot more preparation to go as well. So we'll take that as it comes. "I think this team has showed a lot of resilience the whole way through the year. We had two losses at the start of the league. And we just stayed resilient. We kept close as a group, there's serious camaraderie within us." Limerick goalkeeper Josh Ryan in the man of the match after his penalty save and two-point kicks helped his side secure their place in the Tailteann Cup final. — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 22, 2025 In 2022 Ryan suffered a serious injury, breaking his tibia in three places, which forced him to take 17 months out of the game to recover. The sacrifices and determination needed was certainly on his mind as the final whistle went. "It looked fairly bleak inside the hospital in Limerick for 12 days lying on my back amd I didn't think I'd see the day again to be honest with you. "Every day we're playing with Limerick, I look at the program and see my name. That's what it means, to see your name on an inter-county panel again is great." Limerick boss Jimmy Lee expressed immense pride at his team's strength of character and the depth of talent on the squad. "The resilience that the boys have shown, even when we were being beaten, [has been a key factor]. "They dug deep. Seeing the big names coming off, the strength and depth in the squad is, and I know I keep saying it, actually phenomenal. "From one to 38 anyone could be on that 26 and there was a time we were fighting for the first 15. "Now we're fighting for the first 26, it's a great complaint. I'm delighted to have it."
